Mr. Outdoors: Shutdown limits skiing, snowshoeing options

One of the best times I had backcountry skiing at Hurricane Ridge was a President's Day weekend several centuries ago, when Olympic National Park was closed by a winter storm.

Seabury Blair Jr.(Photo: File photo)

I backpacked up to the ridge along the Wolf Creek Trail, which until the late 1950s was the only auto access to Hurricane Hill and the ridge beyond. Until 1958, you could drive the old road all the way to an aircraft spotter's lookout atop Hurricane Hill.

The lookout is long gone and the 8-mile route up the Wolf Creek Trail is now about 15 miles, one-way. That's no thanks to the dam-free Elwha River, which took a big chunk out of the Olympic Hot Springs Road near the entrance to the park.

Back then, I was surprised on arriving at Hurricane Ridge to find a bunch of park rangers occupying the visitor's center, which like the road itself had been closed by the storm. They were good enough to invite me in to warm up by the fire, but I still had to sleep in my tent outside.

I'm guessing the government shutdown is still in effect and that cross-country skiing and snowshoeing at both Olympic and Mount Rainier national parks is still impossible to all but the strongest skiers and hikers. Rainier has been gated at the Nisqually Entrance and parking along Highway 706 is forbidden.

The Hurricane Ridge Road is closed, as well as the Heart O' The Hills Campground. The shortest trail to get to the ridge -- assuming you can find it under the snow -- is the 8.1-mile (one-way) Little River Trail, which joins the Hurricane Hill Trail just beyond that delightfully scary spot named "Steep and Icy."

Although the road from the Nisqually Entrance at Mount Rainier to Longmire is plowed to allow park staff access, private vehicles are not permitted. And according to a Jan. 6 park news release, "Traveling by foot on park roads is prohibited and is extremely unsafe ..."

Assuming the Trumpster (rhymes with dumpster) decides to end this lunacy, it may still take some time to get the two best areas for backcountry skiing and snowshoeing open. The damage is already done, snow is piling up every day and it is likely avalanches will make access even more difficult.

The good news is that there are still places to find snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. The best, perhaps, is along the Mount Tahoma Trail Association's many routes just southwest of Mount Rainier National Park.

You'll find miles of trails and three spiffy warming huts anywhere from 4-5.5 miles from Sno-Park locations, depending upon the snow level. Use of the trails and huts during the day is free and all you need is a Washington State Sno-Park permit.

The daily permit is a rip-off at $20. Much better to pay $40 for the seasonal permit.

Two other locations worth a try might be the Sun Top or Silver Springs Sno-Park areas off Highway 410. Sun Top is a fantastic climb to an even better eyeball-melting view of Mount Rainier and Silver Springs gives you an option of 'shoeing or skiing up the closed Highway 410 in the park.

Watch out for snow donuts!

Seabury Blair Jr. has written eight guidebooks, including the Creaky Knees and Day Hike! series. His first book, Backcountry Ski! Washington, is out of print. E-mail him at: Skiberry@hughes.net.